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Roman Reigns will defend his title at WWE Backlash

WWE World Champion Roman Reigns is set to defend his belt against Jacob Fatu at WWE Clash in Italy in two weeks. WWE is hosting a big premium live event in Italy, and the decision was made to have a rematch from the previous Backlash PLE earlier this month. Reigns defeated his cousin Fatu, but the match was booked intentionally to set up a big rematch.

Tonight’s episode of Raw confirmed that Reigns will be facing Fatu in a Tribal Combat match at the next big event. Fatu is getting a major push by WWE with his first time truly entering the main event picture. Roman has a history of facing various relatives in the past, and this match stipulation originated from his feud against Jey Uso a couple of years ago.

Cody Rhodes vs Gunther was already announced as the other world title match currently scheduled for Clash in Italy. WWE has started to embrace international PPVs over the past few years after having most events in the United States or Canada for decades. These shows require some big matches to attract fans to the rare chances of getting to see a live event in their home country.

What Is A Tribal Combat Match?

Roman Reigns has won the two previous Tribal Combat matches to make the gimmick match part of his lore. The first match featured him standing tall over Jey Uso after his abusive leadership caused a rift between family members in The Bloodline faction.

Another Tribal Combat match came next against Solo Sikoa after Reigns turned into a face character cheered by the audience. Sikoa trying to take Roman’s place as the “head of the table” and new leader of the Bloodline warranted a violent match. Reigns scored a victory to provide the feel good moment as a good guy against the villain.

The exact rules of the match are to have no rules and create a No Disqualification scenario with weapons being welcomed. Reigns will get to defend his title against yet another relevant in the Tribal Combat match and can improve his overall record to 3-0.

Match Is Likely To Have Predictable Finish

Reigns is the strong favorite to win this match since he’s still in his first feud after winning the WWE World Championship from CM Punk at WrestleMania 42. The predictable finish will see Roman likely winning cleanly and moving into another feud for the summer against someone else.

WWE booked Fatu against Reigns due to the past success of the Bloodline drama drawing huge money for the promotion. Fatu getting these important matches raises his profile into a bigger star, even if he doesn’t leave the feud with the world title around his waist.

Expect Roman to win the match in an effort designed to make Fatu look like an equal and have fans believing in him. The excited international crowd will likely provide a great atmosphere to add to the matches. Reigns has the chance to make his cousin a top star, but he’s not dropping the title unless something drastically changes.